Forgotten Verses
by ShinseiTom
Summary: What happened long ago in the forgotten folds of time before Hakuoro was called by that name, before he met the cast of Utawarerumono? What exactly happened during and after the time Iceman was captive? As told by Hakuoro, these are the forgotten stories.
1. Verse 1: Death

**Utawarerumono - Forgotten Verses**

I would like to thank the people of **Mirror Moon** for releasing the Utwawarerumono Visual Novel English Translation patch. Without it, the parts of this story that overlap with the game/anime would not be nearly as detailed. Take note, anybody reading this: I USED EXCLUSIVELY THE GAME AS THE BASIS FOR MY STORY. If the reader has only seen the anime, I would highly recommend the visual novel. Not only for it's expanded story, but also for it's solid SRPG gameplay. Be warned though, it has graphic mature scenes not meant for minors.

With that out of the way, here's my rendition of what happened to Hakuoro before and after the main time of the game/anime.

Welcome to the Forgotten Verses.

* * *

**VERSE 1 - Death**

For the whole of their 10 years of digging, no previous discovery had excited the higher-ups as much as the "Kingsland Cave - Cradle of Humankind" dig site unearthing. Buried beneath the dirt of ages was something they had never seen before.

And the best part was: only they knew.

With only a single media announcement and a secrecy that was unprecedented, a small group led by one of the higher-ups named Warren began to study the discovery, a fossil, to determine what exactly they had and how old it was. At first, little could be seen of the actual skeletal structure. Care had to be taken to keep the fossil completely intact. Warren began by scanning the entire rock it was embedded in on-site. Once they knew the exact dimensions of the fossil, they slowly cut it out of the rock face of the small cave it was found in. Once finished, Warren moved it to a secure containment room where further studies were conducted. Slowly, they uncovered the front of the beast.

It had hideous features. With a skull that was vaguely primitive, the first thing you noticed was it's incredibly large mouth filled with sharp teeth. It looked like the thing had died screaming. The head sat sticking out between two large, bulbous panels on it's back that apparently acted as some kind of armor, but which were ugly all the same. It was leaning forward, it's left arm stretched out and the panels sticking up. The top part of it's face had some kind of mask over it, but it wasn't bone or any other substance that the scientists could even scratch to get a sample. As it stared out from the rock with it's malevolent eye-sockets behind the horned mask everyone, including Warren, would get chills. It was almost as though it was still alive. They nicknamed it "Predator."

Slowly, tests were started on the actual leftover pieces of petrified tissue and bone. Progress was slow, as it seemed completely different from any other being on the planet that had ever existed. But still they plowed on, and they slowly got more information. It was 50,000 years old and had been buried alive. However, the full truth was to frighten them. Genetics tell few lies.

They had dug up the Missing Link between man and ape.

Immediately, the team of researchers under Warren disappeared and the containment room closed. Warren and the other few higher-ups that knew of the fossil "silenced" those that resisted in any way, and those that didn't resist were put under constant watch. The entire incident was erased from the media. Nothing ever happened. All new researchers were told that the room was completely off-limits due to various hazards, and locked. Any who attempted to open the door for whatever reason were "transferred," often under odd circumstances and with "minor work-related" injuries.

Warren was assigned the task of keeping the room secure, and he kept it that way for many years.

Until he came along.

* * *

It had been 5 years. Many things had happened in the world, and a new cold war had begun. Yellowstone was showing immediate signs of an impending eruption, and 50 years of intensifying hurricane/typhoon action had turned the southeastern coast of major landmasses into all but uninhabitable wastelands during the storm season. The world was on the brink of disaster and still Warren protected the room. But he had grown tired, and wasn't watching as he should have.

The new guy in the building, a brilliant logical thinker and graduate of the University of Southampton School of Humanities, 'borrowed' the key to the room out of curiosity after having noticed the room during his work at the facility.

Exiting the airlock into the room, he was immediately dazzled by the intense white light coming from the spotlights over the rock in the middle of the room. As such, he couldn't see what it was until he had already walked to the middle of the room and climbed to the top of the raised platform. Once he could see, he stared awestruck at the monstrosity.

"T-this is..." he stammered, as he stared at the horrible being staring back at him. "Bones? A fossil? A dinosaur? No, it can't be. It is a fossil of something that walked upright like humans. But, something very different from humans all the same."

He circled the fossil once, getting a feeling of how large it must have been. "Standing, it would be three meters... no, four-and-a-half meters, perhaps? And what about these features? It looks as if..."

Before he could finish the thought, Warren entered the room. He had realized the room was open immediately by way of a silent alarm that detected any movement in the room and reported it directly to his PDA.

"As if - what?" asked Warren, as he coolly walked towards the new archaeologist. He didn't remember the guy's name, and didn't much care either. The new guy whipped around at his voice, sweating from the dry heat filling the room. "You really are troubling. You were even warned not to go here." The door buzzed shut behind him, locking them both into the room.

The new guy put on a tough facade, knowing he had been caught red-handed. "If you place a taboo on something, people will always want to break it. You should watch out for that."

Warren smirked. "I see. I will be more careful next time," he said. Ah yes... his name was Ito Satoshi. Or was it Satoshi Ito? He was called by Ito, so that was his last name... stupid Asian naming convention.

Ito turned back to the fossil. "Why have you gone so far to hide this?"

Warren glanced at the fossil before turning his full attention back to Ito. "That is something that should not exist. It is certainly something different from us. And because it has not been made public all this time, it has been discovered many, many times."

"Then isn't it your forte to make all truth and misinformation about it appear groundless?"

Warren was caught off guard. This man had hit the nail on the head, first guess. He was sharper than he appeared. "Heh, are you some sort of spy?"

Ito looked over his shoulder for a second. "I am merely an archaeologist." He turned back to the fossil, examining it again.

Warren laughed behind his back. It was a very unnerving laugh. And not at all out of happiness. "Kukuku... you are quite the scholar." He watched the back of the archaeologist, and guessed at his reason for curiosity. "Do you think this is merely some mutation?"

Ito sharply turned around and gave his own full attention to the senior researcher. He was interested.

Warren decided to play a short game. "Let me ask you something. Do you think we evolved from apes?"

Ito thought for a second, but eventually reached the conclusion most researchers did. "Who knows? We have yet to find the missing link."

"My, if you were my student, I would have to mark you down." He wagged his finger at Ito's face, grinning. "The answer is even right before your eyes."

Ito couldn't hide his confusion, but Warren saw that he was thinking the problem through. He would have been a valuable asset in the future. "What do you mean?"

"The root of evolution."

"The root... of evolution?"

"If not for this, we might still all be apes right now." Said Warren, sweeping his hand towards the petrified figure behind Ito. Ito couldn't help but turn around and stare at the thing, his awe renewed.

"Are you saying this monstrous fossil caused us to evolve? Based on what evidence?"

"Heh, is this merely one of the 10,000 gods or some golden monkey?" Warren threw him one last hint, before deciding he had had enough of this game. "You said that humans will always want to break a taboo."

Ito nodded, his attention still focused on the fossil.

"You are right. Humans are brimming with curiosity. That is one of their good traits. It causes them to learn new things and evolve. But it is bad as well. The learn things which were best left unlearned. Eating the forbidden fruit caused them to be cast from paradise." Warren said, slowly walking up behind Ito and pulling out the gun hidden in his right lab-coat pocket.

"Yes..." said Warren as he popped the safety on the 9mm Beretta M9, "you can say curiosity killed the cat." He couldn't keep the click of the safety and cold certainty in his voice silent, so Ito had just enough time to turn around, but not enough to react to the sight of Warren pointing the gun straight at him.

A sharp retort ripped through the air, as the gun fired one round point-blank into Ito's stomach from below him. He stumbled back onto the fossil, blood smearing the face deep red.

"Wha... t?" Ito stared at the gun, then to his stomach as he realized he had just been shot. A searing pain brought him to his knees as he slowly processed what had just happened. The blood flowed freely out of the wound, but he just stared.

"You just don't know when to give up. If you just give in, things will be much easier." Warren smiled coldly at the man slumped on his knees on the raised platform where the fossil was. He was going to be like the rest. Watched for all eternity. "But, next time-"

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!" Ito screamed and jumped up, using his fading strength to propel himself off the platform towards Warren. The only thing going through his mind was to not let this be it. He wouldn't die like this here!

"What? Hey, what are you doing - let go!" Somehow Ito managed to get the gun out of his pocket while falling, and was now pointing it at Warren from above while holding him down. Ito's face was twisted as he pulled the trigger. Three sharp retorts, then one last shot a second afterward echoed in the room. The last thing Warren saw was the Fossil's hideous face, more alive than it had any right to be.

Ito dragged himself up and stumbled to the foot of the raised platform. Barely making it, he fell down with his back against it, his strength seeping out of the wound in his stomach along with his life. Gasping for breath and coughing blood, he laughed dryly.

"Shit... blowing a hole in someone's guts like that..."

His vision started to blur as his body failed.

"I knew... this guy... was dangerous..."

Taking a couple more breaths and lying in a growing pool of his own blood, his vision faded away to darkness.

* * *

How long was he in darkness? He didn't know. It could have been seconds, it could have been centuries. All he knew was there was a voice calling him.

"Who... are you..."

He couldn't understand what the voice was saying, and he didn't much care. He was just tired. He wanted to voice to stop, leave him alone.

-**WOKE**-------**ME**-

"Who… is… calling me…

**----I--------HAVE… WAIT-----ED-**

**I-------------ALONE… I-----------SOLITUDE**

"What…?"

**I---INCREASE…. ---ING**

…**YOUR-----------EVOLUTION… …… I----…. WAIT—ING**

He really didn't understand what this voice was. He should be dead. But since he wasn't, he just wanted to sleep. "What… are… you…"

**YOUR BODY…-------I WILL TAKE------… IT…**

…**-------THEN YOUR WISH-----…. I WILL GRANT IT.**

"What… are… you saying…?"

… **YOUR WISH-----… I WILL GRANT IT.**

"…"

**WISH----… I WILL GRANT IT.**

"…Uu…"

**WISH-----…**

"That… hurts…" He couldn't take anymore of being awake. The one speaking to him hurt him, so much pain and so tired. A wish, what wish? The pain... "Just… just… let me sleep…"

…**CONTRACT----. COMPLE----------**

** YOUR---… WISH, I WILL GRANT IT…**

**END OF VERSE 1**


	2. Verse 2: Awakening

**VERSE 2 - Awakening**

How long did he float in sleep after that? He didn't even know. Pieces of his past flew in front of his face in a constant stream, even things he should not have been able to remember. Like, the first word he spoke and his parent's happiness as he crooned it out. When he learned to walk, when he learned to run without tumbling. Going outside his house into the backyard. When he was introduced to solid food for the first time. His first pet, a kitten. The neighbor's dog chasing the cat around sometimes. His first tricycle, then a bicycle.

School came next. Very young friends, playing on the schoolyard, sometimes being teased for his name. Never maliciously. He chimed in too sometimes. Learning shapes, colors, numbers. Always top of the class.

Middle school, junior high, high school. More and more memories kept coming. His first girlfriend. His best friend. Dad's gone now, away on a long dig trip somewhere. Oh, back now. Away again. Mom died while he was in high school. A prolonged illness finally took her. Father was away more and more on his dig trips, leaving him alone. His best friend left for the military.

College now. Working for a living, staying on campus, majoring in social sciences, archeology. Much like his father, he liked to dig. Broke up with his girlfriend, lasted a long time, but it ended. New friends on campus, new opportunities. Professor took an interest in him because of his perfect grades, recommended for dig in big Indonesia site. Took it, loved it, came back. Father died the final year of college, as did his friend in the military. Same incident too.

College is finished, recommended to help at the Cradle of Humanity Center in Africa. Went, first month was great. Found the locked room, opened it, shot, voice, repeat.

Over and over, the same things flew by his face. He knew it was nothing but a dream, but he was powerless to stop it. Never stopping, over and over, time and again, until finally he couldn't take it anymore. His soul cried out for it to just stop.

..**IF……….THAT IS------….. YOUR WISH-----**

** THEN…------I WILL GRANT IT.**

* * *

He felt sluggish, disoriented. His eyes wouldn't focus, couldn't focus because of the light. He saw only foggy shapes. He felt warmth around him, but he was shivering cold. He couldn't move his body. His throat… he wasn't breathing, but he still got air. He began choking as he remembered how to breathe. The thing in his throat was pulled out. He coughed and coughed as he breathed in air himself. He was laying down, the warmth wet. The warmth receded, and he was cold. Then he was warmed up by something cloth. Voices. With the wet gone, sounds were returning.

"----------…----- ----- -------------?"

He realized the voice was directed at him. The words sounded familiar, yet not at the same time. He couldn't grasp what they were asking, yet he should. His mind was fuzzy. His eyes kept trying to focus, but his head hurt so badly. Finally, he understood a little of what they were saying.

"----man… can ----- un----stand?"

He tried to piece it together. It wasn't working. His brain was still too dull. He tried to raise his arm. It moved a little, a blurry shape in his vision. He squinted his eyes, and could make out silhouettes above him, looking down. They looked off somehow. He couldn't tell how. Still the voice continued.

"Iceman… c—you under—and?"

He nodded his head, finally piecing together what was being asked. What was happening? The voice didn't seem to be coming from the silhouettes above him. He tried to look around. He couldn't tell where he was. But he also still couldn't quite see. Then he realized he didn't know who he was. Who was he? He couldn't remember. Slowly, his eyes focused.

"Don't m---, the m----- will –ake care -- y-- for now."

He nodded his head again, and stopped moving. He felt himself be lifted up by the silhouettes. Now he knew what seemed off. The ears of most seemed wrong. They were fuzzy or elongated. He was tired. His head was still dull. But he could see despite the bright light. Four females were moving him on what looked like a stretcher. He was covered with a thick sheet of something. The walls were metallic, devoid of life, white.

They stopped, having reached their destination, and a door whooshed open to let them through. The room was very simple. It looked much like an examination room, with a raised flat-top bench/table in the middle. The females with the odd ears picked him up off the stretcher and put him on the exam table, and left the room, the door sliding shut with an electronic ping behind them. He lay on the table and looked up at the bright fluorescent lights above him, thinking he had seen something very similar to these bright lights recently. But he couldn't remember where...

Slowly, his mind fogged up again, and sleep overcame him.

* * *

He woke up to a deathly quiet room, but before he could even twitch, a body materialized beside the table.

"Do you understand me, Iceman?"

His throat was dry and raspy, but he managed to get out a word, "Yes." He tried to sit up, and felt all kinds of soreness in his body. Light nausea wracked him. Like his body hadn't been used in ages.

"That's good. We weren't sure if you would be able to truly understand us."

"Need… water…" he managed to get out. His throat was so dry.

The door to the room opened, and a female, different from the first four, entered the room with the door closing behind her. She was wearing a simple red one-piece dress, a collar of simple metal with a bell attached, and a headband to keep her waist-length hair from falling into her face or… over her ears? Her ears looked like they were from an animal, long, drooping down slightly below her chin, with gray white-tipped fur. She was holding a glass of water in her hand. While looking away from him, she walked up beside him, and held the glass out towards him. He took the glass and drank it all at once. It helped tremendously. The girl took the glass back from him, bowed, and walked back out the door never saying a word.

He wondered why she hadn't looked at him, and he realized that except for the cloth that he had wrapped partially around him, he was naked.

"You got some water? Good. Is there anything else you want? We can give you a little food, but it will take a little while for your body to be able to process food normally."

"I'm… not hungry." He stared at the man, and realized he could see through him. "What are you?"

The man chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not some ghost. I'm projecting a hologram of myself into your room. For various reasons I will explain later, I can't actually come and meet you in person. My apologies."

A hologram? But that was science-fiction. It hadn't been invented yet. Or at least he thought so. When was he? How had he got here? Who was he? Where was he? Who were those girls with the ears? What was going on?

"Don't worry too much. You are still tired from the cryogenic sleep you were in. Don't worry about anything for now."

"How did you know I was worrying?" Even to himself that sounded paranoid, but he was scared of why he knew nothing, remembered nothing.

"The monitors in the room can tell when your temperature rises, when certain brainwaves appear, various things. Plus, you looked overwhelmed. Next time you see me, I'll explain much of your situation. Until then, please try to relax. If you feel up to it, the computer in the room is connected to the library, so you can read something to ease your mind."

The hologram of the man disappeared, and the room was plunged into silence once again. Since he didn't really feel like reading, he stood up to check the room. His legs barely held him up. He was incredibly sore all over, as if he had done all the physical work in the world in one day all by himself.

He slowly walked to the door and looked at it. I had a seam down the center, and a small screen on it. To the left of the door was a pad that had various key on it, and above that another small screen. In the corner to the left of the door was a solid cube table, and a bright fluorescent light shining on it. The wall between that corner and the next had a long, seemingly one-way window into the room. He couldn't see through it at all. He worried about being watched, but then again, watch him do what?

The back left corner had a door, and when he got close, it slid open quietly. Inside was what appeared to be a bathroom, with a sink and shower. The other corner of the back part of the room had a large container-looking object. It had two halves, a top and bottom, each with their own simple one-button panels on them. Pushing the top button, the top part slid upwards open, and inside was a change of clothes. Plain white shirt and pants, with a pair of soft shoes for inside. He changed into the clothes in the bathroom, and folded up the cloth that had been wrapped around him and put it in the container.

He closed the top part by pushing the button, and opened the bottom part. It had various things that he couldn't identify. Since he didn't know what they were, he left them alone, and closed the door. Next to the container was a computer console, or he thought it was. It had two screens that looked holographic, but no input like a keyboard or mouse. He tried touching the screen, and the screen changed to the library screen. The only option available after that was fiction. Beside the computer were two machines that he couldn't identify. He couldn't even guess at what they were. They were large and squarish, but had nothing that looking like an opening. The screens were blank and dark, like they were turned off too.

And that was the extent of the room he was in. He moved back to the center table, and lay down on it. It had no underside, as like the cube table in the corner it was solid from the top to bottom as far as he could tell. It was a lot more comfortable than it looked, since it wasn't a hard top but a very thick and cushion-y foam-like substance, even though it looked completely metallic.

Even just that small bit of exercise had completely tired him out. He fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

He woke up to silence again. He sat up, and rubbed his head. Where… oh yeah, the small room. So, when was the man going to…

"Hello, Iceman."

Right on time. "Hello… err…" He didn't know the guys name. And why did he call him Iceman? It seemed odd.

"My name is Mizushima. What is your name?"

"My name…. is…" He couldn't remember a thing about himself. Only vague memories of the world he lived in and the events in the world he heard of. Nothing related to him that he knew of. No name, no family, no job, nothing. "I can't remember."

The man in the hologram looked disturbed for a second, but it disappeared and was replaced with a smile. "Then, is Iceman acceptable for now? Since we found you frozen in a chunk of ice, we came to call you Iceman among us, so it would be easy to keep that name."

"That's fine with me, wait, inside a chunk of ice? What was I doing there?"

"We don't know. With the science of your time, we have no idea how you were able to be instantly frozen in the manner you were. It's considered a miracle that you are even alive right now."

Iceman stared at the hologram. "What year is it?"

"Are you sure you want to hear right now?"

Iceman braced himself, and nodded.

"It is now 3XXX" said Mizushima. He stood and waited to see what Iceman's reaction would be.

"3XXX… is a long time from when I was alive." Iceman hung his head. Not that he remembered anything personal from that time, but surely he had some people that had cared for him. Hopefully, or maybe not, as then he wouldn't be able to miss them. That would be sad in its own way.

"Well, many things have happened since then. When exactly were you frozen?"

"I think… 21XX."

And Mizushima went on to briefly tell the history of the world from 21XX to 3XXX. Iceman became more and more amazed as the story went on.

He could remember vague things on the news about a hotbed of activity in some African countries that was putting tension between the US, Russia, Japan, Korea, basically all the large powers with nuclear weapons. Apparently something happened, and some country fired a nuke at another. Which touched off a worst-case nuclear war. Nearly all major cities were destroyed, and the world was plunged into what was thought at the time to be a decade long nuclear winter. But that wasn't the end. Suddenly, a month after the last nuke hit, the Yellowstone volcano had a Category 8 explosion. This meant that there was little to no light getting in from the sun, and the average temperature of the surface of the planet dropped. Ozone in the atmosphere, already low, became nearly nonexistent. The surface became uninhabitable by human standards.

So the last bit of humanity built these underground facilities to wait out the winter.

"Unfortunately," Mizushima concluded, "now that the surface is inhabitable, our metabolisms and immune systems can't handle the surface. We have been isolated far too long underground. That's why we need your help."

"My help?" Iceman echoed. "How can I help? I can't remember anything."

"You can't remember anything? That's... not so good. But your body can live on the surface, unlike ours."

"How do you know that?" He had noticed Mizushima's frown when he said he couldn't remember anything. But he couldn't exactly help it.

"Because, you are living there now."

Iceman was amazed. "Then, that's why…"

"Yes, that's why I can't come see you in person. We could bring you closer to us, but that increases the chance of us getting infected with something from the surface. Your food comes from us, but your water and air are both supplied almost directly from the surface. It would be suicide for me to come visit you." The hologram finished talking, and waited.

"This is… then what about the girls who had the odd ears? Who are they?"

"They are called maruta. They are some of our attempts at making a human capable of living on the surface."

"Then, the ones that were up here are able to survive?"

"Yes. Most can that are alive today. But they are all still somewhat incomplete. Noticeable isn't it, their ears and tails? Though the tails don't show as much, covered by clothes."

"Incomplete…" Iceman muttered. He talks like they are objects… maruta, huh? The same name as those given to the WWII POWs in Japan. Meaning logs, so as to desensitize researchers towards the experiments performed on some. Somehow that knowledge surfaced, unlike so much else. He couldn't comment much on their system though. It was something, in their minds, that was apparently normal at this time.

"I do have one more question. Have you noticed that you wear a mask?" Mizushima pointed to his face.

A mask? Iceman didn't know what he was talking about, there wasn't... but when he felt on his face, there was a hard platter with protrusions sticking out. He stared at his reflection in the one-way window. It was an odd gray mask, covering only the top of his face from his nose up. Horns stuck out of it near the top. From the top center of the top edge a small upside-down T slit with holes also right above the arms created an odd symbol, right on his forehead. When he tried to pull it off, a searing pain shot through his head. It was odd, he hadn't even noticed it until it was pointed out.

"I take your reaction to mean no?"

"I had no idea. It won't come off either. What is it?"

Mizushima was quiet for a second, the hologram not moving. It was like... he left his body for a second. Unnerving. "Your mask is apparently what allows you to survive outside. We are attempting to replicate it so that we can use it ourselves, but so far research has not been terribly successful."

"..." Iceman didn't know what to say. Incredulous would have described him at that moment.

"On another note, it is time for us to part. Since you have woken up, no problems have appeared on your bio readings, but just to be sure we are sending one to check up on you."

"One… one of the maruta?"

"Yes. I will see you again soon." And Mizushima's hologram disappeared.

The door slid open soon after, and the same… maruta… as last time came in. She walked over and ran something like a scanner over his body. It was kinda awkward, so he tried to create a little small-talk.

"Uh… what is your name?"

The girl didn't respond immediately, so he thought that maybe she didn't understand him, but she suddenly answered.

"Ah… I… am called #3510." She spoke extremely soft, so much that he almost couldn't hear her. She finished the scan and paused, looking down. "Are you… feeling poorly?" she asks.

"No… I'm fine. A little tired, but otherwise alright. And a little thirsty. Could you get me something to drink?" He smiled at her.

"O-okay," said the girl, quietly. She walked back out the door, and came back a second later with a glass of water and a pitcher filled with ice-water. She handed the glass to him, and bowed. "I will leave now. If you need anything, I can be called simply by calling out my number at any time." She quietly walked out of the room, the door swooshing closed behind her.

How much the world had changed. He couldn't remember anything about himself, but he knew that nothing like these maruta existed. The closest thing would be a slave, though servant seemed to be a nicer way of putting it... Not a pretty thought. He decided to try not to think about it.

Then, could it really be 3XXX? The story he had been told seemed so far-fetched, like science-fiction taken to the extreme. A nuclear war, followed directly by a supervolcano eruption? It would be the worst catastrophe ever in the history of humankind, besides maybe the Toba eruption that nearly killed off humans. It was hard to believe he missed the hell by barely a month or two. Even harder to believe it actually happened. But the room seemed to be proof itself. He didn't know how the holograms could be faked, and they didn't have anything close to the maruta in the 2XXX's and he was sure of that.

So, it was at least possible that it was true. But he had to see for himself. So he shuffled over to the computer, noticing the non-fiction section was open. The only way to find out himself in that little room was to read whatever they allowed him to. It would have to do.

**End of Verse 2**


	3. Verse 3: Daily Life in Captivity

**Verse 3 - Daily Life in Captivity**

"Are you awake, Iceman?" a soft voice asked.

"I am now…" He sat up and yawned, stretching. He had spent a lot of time on the computer, looking through the records. It all coincided with what Mizushima had said. I could have all been made up, but why? There were too many records for it to be worth it to trick him. Even if there were a thousand like him that they were planning to experiment on, that much material would have been overkill.

"Um, it's time to eat," the girl in the red dress said.

"Thank you, er, #3510." It was such an odd way to address someone, Iceman was having a hard time getting use to calling somebody by a number.

"You are welcome." She handed him a platter with a bowl of what seemed like oatmeal on it, and a cup of water. It looked totally unappetizing, but he started anyway. Yep, unsweetened and bland. Oh well, his stomach needed to have easy food. Since this was his first meal since he had awoken, he assumed it was good that it was bland. Of course, considering his circumstances, he sure was calm about it all. Didn't people normally freak out about being unfrozen years in the future?

"~~growl~~" his stomach said, after he ate the first bite. It washed away unnecessary thoughts.

"Ah, well, I guess I was hungry." He chuckled and dug in.

"…"

"…" She was looking at him, not saying anything.

"…"

"Um, is there still something you need? It's hard to eat when you stare at me like that." He ate another spoonful, staring back at her.

"Ah… sorry," she stammered, her face blushing. "I wondered… if you needed anything."

"No… not really." He wondered at her reaction…

"I see…" said #3510. She almost looked downcast.

"Hello. Sorry for appearing like this as usual. How are you feeling? Did you remember anything?" said a now familiar voice from right behind him. Geeze, didn't have to scare him!

"No… sorry, Mizushima." He saw nothing that had reminded him of anything in his past. Nothing at all. Rather disheartening for Iceman.

"I see. It would help if you remembered at least something about that mask of yours. Well, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying your memories of yourself are unimportant. I'm just very interested. As a scholar, of course." Mizushima did sound a bit disappointed though.

"-sigh-… I see." Mizushima didn't seem like a bad person. Iceman thought he sounded much like the researcher he was, always interested in the results and methods. Kinda annoying sometimes, but a personality you could live with.

"By the way… #3510 is pretty handy, right? Or is she a burden?"

"Of course she's not a burden. She's a great help." Iceman said. He saw her blush slightly out of the corner of his eyes. "But… why do you call her a number instead of a name? Isn't it awkward?"

It had bugged him for a while. Her name was really and simply #3510. That just didn't seem right nor easy to remember. But he had a guess why it was like that.

"That can't be helped. We aren't allowed to give names to maruta. Those are the rules." Mizushima almost sounded genuinely sorry about it.

"…What an unpleasant set of rules." He grimaced at the answer.

"It may be distasteful, but please put up with it. We have rules for reasons."

"…" So dehumanizing.

"Well, I understand how you feel. That's right. If you don't mind, how about you give her a name?" Mizushima conceded.

"Eh…?" came a small voice from beside Iceman. #3510 looked confused.

"I can't call her by that name, but it shouldn't be a problem if you do."

"Name…" Iceman scratched his head.

"Well, I will be going. Make sure to give her a good name." And the hologram disappeared. Iceman was left with a large challenge.

"Name… huh… What kind of name would you like?" Iceman asked #3510. After all, he didn't know much about names. He didn't even really have one himself either.

"Eh? Um… but…" She looked completely flustered. Which he guessed would be normal. It's not every day you get a new name after all.

"You aren't saying you don't want one, are you?"

She shook her head vigorously. "The doctor gave me this name…"

Oh, so Mizushima had given her that name. Even though it was but numbers, it must still meant a lot to her since she seemed to adore him. "I see… Then how about we use those numbers to give you a name?"

She looked at him quizzically. Well, it was hard to explain the method, so he just started piecing a name together.

"If your name has the same meaning as the numbers, then… #3510… san, go, ichi, zero… San… go… ten… tou… Sango Island? That's no good. Three… five… mi… go… mi… ko… miko? Miko… to…"

Iceman paused. Yeah, that sounded good. "Mikoto."

"…Mikoto?" She tried the name.

"Yeah, how is Mikoto? That's a good name, right?" He was actually kind of proud of the name. It sounded... right for her.

"Mikoto…" She tried the name again.

"No good?" His ego deflated a little with her hesitation.

"… That is, not the case… I am very… very happy." #3510, no, Mikoto smiled the most beautiful smile Iceman had ever seen (that he could remember).

* * *

A tingle from a bell roused Iceman from his reading.

"Mikoto…" he said, turning around. But no one was in the room except Iceman. He had been sure he heard the sound of a small bell.

"Who is it? Is that you Mikoto?" He checked the few corners he couldn't see into, but no one was there.

"That's odd, no one is there. I thought I heard someone." Iceman shrugged, and turned back to the computer.

Suddenly, his vision went white, and he could 'feel' something. "Ah- what is this? Inside my head? Who is it? Show yourself!" The pain from the force of the intruder was intense. Sensations not his forced their way into his perception, knocking him to his knees.

Another flash of white, followed by symbols. He had never seen the symbols before, but he instinctively understood. "My name is #63."

"#63?" One of the maruta? "This voice… you are the one calling me?

"Yes, yes!"

More pain. Flashes as the symbols, the odd way of thinking, intruded on his own thoughts. It was rough, like a child.

"Aahh, can you be a little softer? You're frying my brains." If this kept up, a headache wouldn't begin to describe what he would feel. "So, what business do you have with me, since you won't show yourself?"

"I want a name!"

"A name? You want me to give you a name?" He was surprised at the sudden request.

"Use my number to make me a name too."

"A number for a name, just like Mikoto. But even if you just come out of the blue and ask me for a name... at least can't you show me what you look like?"

A flash of pain went through his head as he could feel the discomfort and anger of the one in his head.

"I can't move. Name!"

"Ahhh----" the pain burned. He had to grit his teeth and clench his hands to stay focused. "You can't come because you can't move? What do you mean? You do seem female, at least."

More pain and flashes in his vision assailed him. The one on the other end didn't want to answer the questions, instead forcing him to think of a name. Iceman held his head, enduring the strain and pain. After all, she was the one in more pain.

"Aaaahhhh, ah, I got it, I got it. I'll give you a name. Um, #63. Six, three, roku, san... mu... muu... mi? Alright, how about Muumin? It's a great name if I say so myself. " He played around a little. Obviously she didn't like it. Pain wracked his head again. "Owww, you don't like it! Hmm, six, muttsu... mutsu... san, Mutsuzou?"

More pain, even more than last time. But it didn't hold the sad feelings from the beginning. His efforts were paying off.

"Owwwwww, I got it, I got it, cut it out. Mutsu, three, mi, Mutsumi..."

"That one."

"Hm? You like Mutsumi?"

"It's pretty..."

"Yeah, it's not a bad name." Iceman smiled. She sounded so childlike and happy, he couldn't help but smile. Such incredible innocence.

The presence in his head slowly receded and a different sound replaced the quiet. It was static from the speakers of the room, wherever they were. Iceman couldn't help but notice it, as the volume was loud.

"Hmm? What's that noise? Speaker interference or something?"

Out of the static, he could pick out parts that sounded like speech. Spoken haltingly and nearly covered by the static, 'Thank you' could be heard. It sounded like a young female.

"Mutsumi, is that you?"

"Thank you..." and static swallowed the rest, before even the static faded away. Replacing it was the familiar voice of Mizushima.

"Hey, did anything happen? It seemed like something forced its way in here." Mizushima seemed genuinely concerned, whether for Iceman's sake or another reason he couldn't tell. But because of the rules governing maruta, he really didn't want to tell Mizushima about what had happened. He trusted Mizushima to not mistreat maruta, but not the others. Iceman decided to keep quiet about what had happened.

"No, not really."

Mizushima paused to look at Iceman before muttering something about it not being a big deal. He obviously wasn't convinced but Iceman wasn't about to say anything else.

_Thank you, huh._

_

* * *

_

"Mikoto?"

"Yes?" answered the characteristically soft voice. The demure maruta girl, always in her soft red dress and collar, was at the center bench in his room setting out various instruments in preparation for his next checkup.

"I know it's your job, but isn't it a pain being with me all day?" Lately she had only been leaving for meals and at night. He didn't mind the company on bit, but it had to be tiring constantly being with him. Surely she had things she would rather be doing with her free time than keeping him company.

However, her response was the opposite of what he expected..

"No, I really enjoy it. And..." she paused.

"And?"

"And..." she paused again. This time Iceman kept quiet, hoping she would continue..

"It-it is nothing." She blushed furiously before returning to the instruments she was preparing. She fumbled a little.

"What's that? Now you got me curious."

"B-but... I-I am embarrassed, my face is hot..." and her voice trailed off like that.

"I, I see" Both of them trailed off into silence. Mikoto seemed extremely embarrassed, her face was completely red. Even the fur on her ears was perked up, much like a cat when startled. Not to say Iceman wasn't also embarrassed and a little confused. After all, he hadn't realized the time she spent with him was anything special.

Thinking about it Mikoto, or #3510 as she was always called by Mizushima, was probably treated like a slave by the others. Mizushima probably wasn't a bad master, but he still conformed to the system. And that made him just as guilty by Iceman's values. But were his values even valid anymore? The world had changed so much from what he could vaguely remember. His lack of solid memories hampered his abilities to make deductions. He had been told it had been over a millennium since he was frozen, but was that true? It felt like he was out of place here, but he couldn't be sure. That brought him full circle to trying to remember any-

His vision flashed. No matter how often she came, Iceman was still startled whenever Mutsumi connected with him.

"wanna play!"

"Mutsumi? What is it?"

"wanna play!"

"Play? How do we do that? I don't really know many games that involve people who aren't in front of me."

"shirotori again!"

"Shirotori? Haven't we done that enough? We stayed up all night that one time, let me take a break from that." He hadn't been a pleasant sight the next day. He had even been scolded by Mikoto due to his condition, something she had never done.

"othello? shougi? chess?"

"Hm, you're really too good at Othello, shougi and chess." It was easy for Mutsumi to remember the placement of pieces and strategies, she was really good. He struggled sometimes to remember what was where at what time. It hampered his ability to think ahead.

Mikoto walked up to him timidly. She didn't know how to act when Iceman began talking out loud with someone she couldn't hear or see.

"Hm... time for that already?" He smiled at Mikoto. "Thanks. See you later."

"Huh?" Mikoto was startled. Was he talking to her or the invisible person? He could see the confusion in her face.

"It's nothing." Iceman knew he startled Mikoto whenever Mutsumi came. So far, Mizushima hadn't been around whenever Mutsumi was, and Iceman figured he would be interested in the talks immensely, but it didn't seem right to tell him about her.

His brain flash fried.

"play now!"

"Ow------ I said I was busy."

"Um... what is it?" He was confusing Mikoto again.

His brain hurt, she wasn't stopping, it was a temper tantrum just like a kid.

"play! Play with me now!"

Flash! His vision swayed white.

"NOW!"

"Ow--- stop!"

"Um, um, did I?" Mikoto looked frantic.

"Ah, no, it's not you Mikoto." He tried to smile at Mikoto before speaking towards the wall. "That's enough, Mutsumi. I don't like kids who do bad things."

He could feel her surprise at his strict words. Iceman didn't like using that tone, but sometimes... and it always made her cry. He could feel the tears through their connection, however it was made.

"Hey, don't cry now. Don't cry, we'll get to play later. Think up a game to play in the meantime."

"promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

The static from the speakers replaced that presence in his head. Iceman realized it was Mutsumi again contacting him through the speakers.

".... Tou..... sama...."

"Tou-sama?" As in father?

"Tou-sama... I love you...." and the static drowned out everything else before abruptly ending.

"Um, what was that?" asked a frightened Mikoto. She had never heard Mutsumi jack the speakers before, and stood frozen in the act of packing up the medical instruments.

Before Iceman could answer though, Mizushima's voice broke the tension.

"#3510, still here?"

"Ah-" Startled back to action, Mikoto hurriedly finished packing. "Y-yes, excuse me!" Mikoto said, racing out of the room, her cheeks burning.

Mizushima's hologram watched bemused as she left. Sometimes Iceman couldn't tell how exactly Mizushima viewed maruta. But Iceman did know Mizushima couldn't tell the truth if asked, so there was little worth in pondering. But maybe asking something else would help.

"Can I ask you something? Who is Mu-, I mean, #63?" Iceman could see Mizushima draw back in shock. A rare case of showing emotion other than scientific excitement.

"Where did you hear that?"

Iceman had trouble responding. Mizushima's voice had come out angry and not only a little frightened. Mizushima had apparently taken that as his answer, as he rubbed his eyes like he was thinking hard.

"Forget her." Mizushima growled.

Iceman stared. Huh?

"Pretend you don't know anything. It's for your sake."

Iceman finally squeezed out a hoarse "What...?"

"I know you don't understand, but please do this."

Iceman was left alone as Mizushima turned off his projector without warning. He could only wonder at what just happened. Mizushima's outright refusal to answer wasn't like him at all. So far as he knew, few things were hidden from him, he had assumed. These people were generally very open in all details, even ones he would have rather not known and himself found disgusting, like when he learned of their treatment of maruta.

Why such total rejection?

"What did he mean by 'forget,' Mutsumi?" The presence had been 'listening-in' on his conversation.

"..." The voice inside his head was quiet.

"You won't let me know?"

The presence in his head receded, once again replaced by the static.

"...Tou... sama.... Tou-sama, I--- here... I am here... Come and--... get me...." The rest was drowned out by interference, before abruptly cutting off altogether.

"Mutsumi?" Something wasn't right. Even Mutsumi wouldn't answer. But what bothered him the most was what she did say. Come get her?

**End of Verse 3**


	4. Verse 4: Escape!

**Verse 4 - Escape!**

Mizushima blinked into existence in the small room. By now, Iceman was used to it, but it was sort of an odd time. Usually he came in the 'evening' or right after a health checkup, not in the 'morning'. Times of day meant little to Iceman in his room of florescent lights.

"Hurry up and escape."

Iceman's brain froze. Escape? Escape from what?

"It was just decided in a meeting that you would be refrozen. Tomorrow, they will come here under the pretense of an exam and freeze you. You wouldn't wake up until... maybe never." Mizushima's dry voice told him he was dead serious.

"What-What! Why?" Iceman couldn't believe how calm Mizushima sounded as he spat out such utter crap.

"We have collected data from you," Mizushima continued, emotionlessly, "but research on you will not end. It has been decided that research on you will take time, so we need to preserve our precious sample." Something else, like disgust, leaked into his words in the end covered with sweet sarcasm. But Iceman was beyond hearing something like that.

"Sample, what am I, a guinea pig?" Mizushima's silence only made him angrier. "You meant to do this from the beginning!" Iceman got louder and louder. "You rescued me from the ice, not to save me, but for research, you pretended to have saved me... but you tricked me!" His rising voice got louder and louder, out of control, but the last few words were said in a hoarse whisper.

Mizushima cut him off there. "I do not deny it, nor do I intend to apologize. Hate me to your heart's content if you want. I have temporarily disabled all security. You should escape to the surface while you can. I have also released the maruta. With all this going on, you should be able to escape notice. If you reach the surface, it will be hard to find you."

Iceman calmed down enough to ask "Why are you helping now? Couldn't you have ended this without me knowing?" He felt calmer now that he had let out that outburst. He was already thinking ahead.

Mizushima sighed, a long sad sound. "...I'm tired. I wonder if you know how much your conscience torments you when you create a sub-species of human. Playing god and pretending what you create isn't human so you can tinker with their brains and organs."

Iceman reeled. Mizushima appeared to have the conscience of what he considered a normal person. "So, you mean to redeem yourself?"

Mizushima seemed to think on that. "Redemption? That would be nice, but I'm really just scared."

Scared was not what he expected to hear from Mizushima. "Scared?"

"Yes. I'm scared of getting used to this. Despite all this anguish, you start to get numb to it." Mizushima paused, his form trembling. Was he... trembling? "And when will I stop feeling anguish and guilt altogether? That is what I am afraid of." He really looked shaken by the idea. Iceman could see that he really wasn't lying.

"But what will you do? Once people find out, there is only one thing that will happen." He was worried. He knew their laws.

"Don't worry about me. I don't intend on dying that easily."

"Won't you come with me?"

"To the surface? What enchanting words." Mizushima's hologram sighed. "I am just a human. I can't live on the surface. I am just a weak, helpless creature."

Iceman stayed silent and listened.

"That is why I couldn't ever be in this room. I always thought it must have been unsettling for me never to have actually been there. All those bacteria and things over there are nothing to you, but they are fatal to us. How ironic. Yearning for the earth, we spent an eternity developing ways to renew ourselves. But now we can no longer live anywhere but this greenhouse environment." Mizushima chuckled. "What a joke. In order to stand on the earth again, we need something like spacesuits. You know what dogu pottery figurines look like? It's just like that. Maybe the same thing happened in the past and they told stories of how they had to walk on the earth with those."

Mizushima smiled tightly. "Besides, someone has to stay here and watch security. So, I can't go with you. I just have one request. Would you hear me out?"

Iceman was worried, but still wary of Mizushima. After all, this still sounded too good to be true. "What is it?"

Mizushima paused, and glanced away. Iceman followed his gaze, and saw Mikoto standing near the door. She must have silently entered the room when he wasn't paying attention.

"Can you take her with you?" Mizushima asked. Both Iceman and Mikoto turned to Mizushima, shocked.

"Doctor?" Mikoto murmured.

Iceman knew what would happen if she came with him. If she came and was caught... but staying, assuming everything Mizushima said was true, would be worse in the end. Even if Mizushima cared nothing for Iceman, Mikoto was something else.

"She is very used to you. She wouldn't be able to bear it without you."

"B-but.." Tears were forming in her eyes. She also knew what this meant.

"Farewell, #3510. You should live for yourself from now on."

"But, Doctor."

Mizushima smiled. "Mikoto, is it? What a great name. Don't worry. There is nothing to worry about. Take care."

Saying her name sealed his fate in Iceman's eyes. It was the absolute proof he needed.

"Doctor..."

"Iceman, please." Those were the words of a father.

"You don't... got it. I will take care of her."

"Thank you." He looked truly relieved to hear to hear his words.

But Iceman had one last thing to take care of.

"I have a favor to ask now. I want to take #63 with me."

Mizushima looked like he expected it. "#63? Sorry, but that's impossible. That number doesn't exist anymore. Number 63 is a lost number... an abandoned number."

What? "Abandoned, that can't be, because-"

"Certainly you are able to communicate with the thoughts of nonexistent things."

Nonexistent? What the hell was he talking about? "Stop messing around. You think I'd believe that?"

"Why would I lie to you now? I don't like to say this, but I was there when it happened."

Iceman was chilled to the bone. "What..." His mouth went dry. She was... dead? How could that be, he had just talked with her. Mizushima finally continued on, his business tone back.

"And... along the way to the surface, there are many security area that cannot be opened. Please use #3510's master key. Your voiceprint has been registered. If you speak while having the key, any door will open for you."

Iceman knew of the keys from a previous talk. So what Mikoto showed him confused him.

"Yes, this is what the doctor gave to me." She took out what appeared to be a white bracelet, or hairpiece. Whichever one, it didn't look anything like what he had expected.

"This is a key?" He voice his doubts, but Mizushima waved it off.

"You might not think so, but yes. Make sure you don't lose it." Iceman saw a flicker of sadness before Mizushima continued. "We are running out of time. You must hurry."

Iceman took one last good look around the room. It had been his only home for many months now. It was a cold impersonal room, but it had been his only haven. He gathered his resolve, and grabbed Mikoto's hand.

"Let's go, Mikoto."

"Ah-" exclaimed Mikoto, before she looked back one last time.

"Farewell, Mikoto, my lovely daughter."

Iceman gritted his teeth in helplessness. There was nothing he could do to save Mizushima. The best he could do was save the one most important to both of them.

"Which way?" he asked.

"Ah, ah, this way." Mikoto pointed down the hallway. He had no idea which direction it was, but he trusted her to know the way around. He had never been outside his room, always locked away. Locked away in that room for close to 4 months. Iceman let her lead the way. Multiple times, he heard people running towards them, but each time a door nearby shut, blocking their path. Mizushima was watching out for them.

After a few minutes, they made it to the airlock. According to Mizushima, normally it was remotely controlled by the Lab using it, but today it was opening and closing to let the maruta through. Mizushima was even watching these and working them as required to not have anyone left behind. But what was even more amazing was the number of maruta lined up in front of the large doors.

It wouldn't have been stretching it to say there was close to 300 maruta in this one spot.

And almost all 600 eyes were on him as he rushed over with Mikoto. Many of the younger began crying. The older cringed at his approach, drawing back, trying to hide. A few tried to stay calm and glare at him, but their eyes too were filled with fear.

The airlock could hold up to 40 persons tops each time, as it was originally designed to fit large equipment from the nearby vehicle sheds. So, how many had already escaped in the 10 minutes since this all began? 200? 300?

He moved to the back of the group, and held Mikoto's hand in his. Her face flushed when he did, but it still didn't completely distract her. She had noticed the stares too.

It was odd enough for a non-maruta to be there, even odder to be wearing the mask he was, and then to top it off he was holding the hand of a maruta and standing in line. He must have been an extreme oddity in their eyes. Their scared, tired, haunted eyes, all still staring at him. It was oppressive the way they stared at him relentlessly.

One of the youngest, probably only 2 or 3 and yet to be abused, stepped out of the mass of maruta and pointed at him.

"Funneh face." He said. All the others froze.

"Oh yeah?" Iceman retorted. He needed something to get them to loosen up. "how about this?" He let go of Mikoto's hand and smiled at her before turning back to the little boy, who was looking confused. He stuck his index fingers into his mouth and pulled it wide, then crossed his eyes.

"Ho'out 'is?"

The little kid was shocked, but began laughing as he made even more faces. Even Mikoto smiled at his antics. More children came out, and they started making faces at each other.

The large airlock doors slid open, but the rest of those not smiling were still frozen, but at least not from fear anymore. From wonder at Iceman's actions.

"Hurry, the next group needs to go!" He pointed at the airlock, reminding them they were all trying to escape. The front few slid towards the airlock, still staring at him. "Hurry! Get in, I want to leave sometime too."

"Why are you here?" asked one of the older maruta, trying to sound tough.

"Just trying to leave with the most important person to me." Iceman glanced towards Mikoto, before focusing back on the questioner. "Is that bad?"

"Who are you?" The man asked, confused.

"I'm called Iceman."

The group of maruta began murmuring when they heard his name. No maruta save Mikoto and the few that handled his thawing had ever seen him. All, however, had heard of him. Of course, he didn't understand why, but it got them to relax a little. That's what he had wanted.

"Wh-what..." Mikoto stammered. She blushed, as many eyes were also turned towards her. The group pushed her forward, and along with Iceman, into the airlock with the next group.

"Hey, wait, what's going on? I'll wait my turn too."

The same maruta as before stepped forward.

"We will wait for the father and his mate to go first."

As he finished, the doors began closing. The cycle for this group was about to begin. "Father? Me... wait!" The doors closed with a thud, and hissing could be heard. Father? Like what Mutsumi called him? Iceman turned to Mikoto for clarification, but she was fidgeting, lost in her own world.

"Mate..."

Only children and younger maruta were in this group, and at the mention of his name, they all looked at him with something dangerously close to awe. They were no help.

_Oh well, there are more important things to worry about _Iceman thought. To him, Mikoto's safety was his top priority. Everything else was secondary at this point.

The lights on the wall flashed green, and a new hissing noise came from the doors to the outside. They slowly opened, and everyone's eyes were blinded by their first look outside. The sun was bright, brighter than any artificial light the unnatural hallways and rooms had ever provided. But also softer, natural. The air was warm, the smell of grass and dirt filling his lungs.

Iceman felt refreshed for some reason.

"Come out everyone, hurry! All young ones? What happened ins-" The voice cut off to a gasp.

Iceman shielded his eyes from the sun with his hands, and scanned their surroundings. It was a downward slope from the door, and the door was built straight into a cliff. They were at a fairly high altitude, and he could see for quite a distance.

"Green..." Iceman gasped. The looked as if nothing had ever happened. A lush forest spread out below him in a wide valley, and he could hear birds singing in the nearby trees. He hadn't been expecting this. Mizushima had said it had suddenly and rapidly repaired itself, but his...

"Y-y-you, who a-are you?" a frightened voice asked. "W-we aren't, aren't going back!"

Iceman looked around again. Aside from all the younger maruta streaming out, only two looked different. A teen and a child, 15 maybe and the other possibly 5. The young one was hiding behind the older one. Both were thoroughly frightened of him, but the older was putting up a brave front for the younger.

"Ahahaha, eh, I'm Iceman?" Iceman said. It worked before...

"No..." The older boy looked thunderstruck. "No, no way. You have to be..." Then the boy got a good look at his face. "The mask..." He stared in awe for a moment, before telling them to follow the group. Iceman and Mikoto listened and followed the group from the back. The small fuzzy-eared kids in the back kept in line and didn't mess around, but he could see some up ahead messing around a little. Kids would be kids. He heard the thump as the airlock doors shut behind them disappearing into the distance as he lightly jogged to keep up with the group.

Iceman looked at Mikoto. "Hey , Mikoto, am I some sort of celebrity or legend?"

"Um, well," Mikoto stuttered. She obviously didn't know exactly how to answer. "Um, um yes, but..." She seemed frantic.

"Ok, ok, it's ok. If you can't tell me now, that's fine. Just knowing I am one is helpful. Everyone's reaction at my name was confusing me a little." Iceman smiled softly and pat her head. "It's alright to have secrets."

"You are... not mad at me?"

"Why would I be?"

"Secrets are not allowed for maruta." Mikoto's ears drooped.

"Everyone has secrets they don't wish others to know. Painful secrets, harmless secrets, secrets for the sake of having a secret, it's normal and human. You only give out secrets to those you trust, and only when you want to."

"I trust you, but, well..."

"It's ok. I have a few of my own." Iceman smiled, making sure she knew he was joking around a little. She lightened up when it became obvious he really was ok with it.

For a while they trotted in silence. Iceman gazed at their surroundings. A forest, little different from what he expected from hazy memories. And it was old-growth, it had been around. The trees were thick and tall, their leaf density easily blocking most of the light creating a darker, quiet, and clear space beneath their boughs. It made for easy travel. The path appeared to be a simple animal trail, and led down the mountain into the valley below.

From the articles Mizushima had provided him on his computer, he knew in general where they were, but not enough to actually get anywhere. Actually, he didn't know where they were going now at all. That bothered him for various reasons.

"Mikoto, I'm going to ask where we are going. Follow close, ok?"

"Ah, ok."

He had to run to reach the front of the line of kids. Most stared at awe as he passed, stopping whatever horseplay they were doing. He waved as he passed, and a few waved back enthusiastically. Those that didn't see him were staring at other things, mostly upwards staring at the ceiling of leaves and limbs. None left the line, and none slowed down.

At the front of the line, a female with ears he hadn't seen before was leading the way. At least, he assumed they were ears. They actually looked more like small wings, sprouting out of the side of her head. He couldn't stop staring, and the maruta noticed his stare. She looked about 30 years old, with extremely intelligent eyes. Her light red hair was cut short, only reaching down to her shoulders.

"Sir?"

"No... er, not sir. I'm not one of those bastards from back there." He was surprised that the woman didn't cringe or stand in awe like the rest.

She blinked at his statement. "I don't understand, sir. This is how I always talk."

"You talk like that all the time? Formalities and all?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh. Eh... why?"

"Conditioning, sir." Her face seemed oddly neutral.

"Conditioning for what?"

"I was one extreme of the military experiment. The agility and dexterity end, to be exact, sir. It was beaten in at a young age." She didn't blink, gauging his reaction to what she said. Apparently he passed the test, as she smiled. "Surprise, disgust, then anger. You truly aren't like the rest of the originals, are you Iceman?"

"You didn't say it with awe like the rest I've met. Who are you? And how did you know who I was?"

"The only name I have is #2667w, sir. And your mask gave you away. None of the other originals had one."

"What is the 'w' for?" He hadn't ever heard of a tag on the end of their numbers.

"Weapon. For that is all I am, sir. A maruta weapon and play toy of the originals such as Nikolai." Her eyes gleamed at the name. She had a deep-seated hatred for whoever that was.

"Were, thanks to Mizushima."

"Mizushima, yes, I thought I recognized his voice on our communications chip. Then does that mean-"

"Iceman!" Mikoto came running up from behind, looking flustered. "You were running too fast, I got left behind."

"Ah, sorry, I didn't notice. I guess I can have a one-track mind." Iceman turned to #2667w. "This is Mikoto. She took care of me while I was... being their guinea pig and prisoner."

"#3510? Mikoto?" #2667w's was surprised to see Mikoto.

"#2667w? Is that you?" Mikoto was also surprised. "You escaped? How? I thought you... couldn't." Mikoto lowered her eyes, apparently embarrassed or ashamed. Iceman guessed that there must have been those who couldn't leave, kinda like Stockholm Syndrome only with the abuse.

#2667w smiled slyly. "Yes, a clever ruse. I was one of the few of my brethren that conditioning didn't work well on, and was smart enough to hide it. But what of you? How did you come to be called Mikoto? Slaves aren't allowed names."

"I-Iceman gave me that name."

#2667w gave Iceman another appraising stare that seemed to bore into him. "You defy expectations again. Maybe I should have shown more respect... Father."

"Please, no more awe. Everyone acts like I'm special." Iceman sighed. "I'm not really that great of a person."

"Mi-Mi-koto...? You haven't told him?" #2667w asked. She looked puzzled.

"N-No. Doctor forbade it."

"Mizushima? Why?" Iceman didn't understand. He had thought little was hidden from him.

Mikoto's ears drooped. "Doctor said it would only hurt you if you knew, and that it was to be top secret."

"Damn scientists." #2667w spat out. "Never to be trusted. Doing what they want with us, never a second thought. Almost all originals are like that, no offense sir."

"Doctor wasn't like that!" Mikoto said, tears starting to form.

#2667 sighed. She looked tired, worn out. And more than anything, sad. "You are right. Out of all of the originals, he was the most -dare I say- humane."

"It is fairly easy to notice that you talk more and seem more knowledgeable than most I've met since leaving. They only stared in awe or cringed when they saw me, depending on who they thought I was. Are they like you, but just too scared to show it?" Iceman asked. He had been wondering about it for a little while now.

"No, I'm a minority sir. And I'm not near as intelligent as Mikoto. I had few chances to actually learn anything. I'm simply older than most, and seen much more. Few maruta are given lessons in anything of practical value."

"Older?" She didn't look old at all.

"Yes, sir. Going on 60 now." She chuckled dryly. "Always disturbs the scientists when they hear that. Oh... well, I should stop talking. Mikoto looks like we're getting along too well."

"Tha-thats not true, I wasn't making any such face."

"Who said anything about faces?" #2667w laughed as Mikoto's face grew more and more red.

"Oh, I forgot what I was originally coming to the front to ask. Where are we going?" Iceman looked around. They had been walking and talking for an hour or so, but nothing around them had changed. It was still forests as far as the eyes could see.

"Though I say minority, there are still many maruta in my situation: part of the weapons program and too tough to crack, sir. As something to pass the time, we came up with a basic escape-route plan. We never expected to use it, but it always pays to be prepared, sir." #2667w swept her hands out. "Do you know much about the geography of where we are?"

"No, my memories are hazy and vague of anything before waking up in the lab. Somewhere in Japan, right?" Iceman could tell he was at least part native, he seemed to be able to understand and read the Japanese language. Fairly useless knowledge now. Got him nowhere in the end.

"Yes. I don't know what it was originally called, but the surface-level part of the facility was a cave system used as a tourist attraction a long time ago."

Iceman had read about that in the computer. A-something cave.

#2667w continued. "Well, nearby was a town of decent size. Each group was to meet at the town and then come up with further plans there."

"You didn't plan past that point?"

#2667w shook her head sadly. "No, sir. We agreed that there was a high chance some of us that were planning were also... unable to leave. And those that didn't leave would reveal the plan once it quieted down some."

"Then-"

"Yes, we will be entering one of the originals old homes. Even I don't know what to expect. It should be untouched sir, as the originals inside the base rarely entered one of their old cities and then only on long excursions to the larger cities."

As they continued jogging, Iceman tried to remember anything from before waking up in this time. Anything about himself. But no explicit knowledge came forth. He couldn't remember anything about himself. Only the basics of the world that was around him a long time ago. He learned new things about himself every time he somehow just knew something, without any knowledge of how he knew, like the Japanese language. Thinking about that gap sometimes made him queasy.

Silence reigned as the group made their way. The only sounds were the scuffling of feet and the wind through the leaves above. The light danced on the forest floor as the trees swayed, and the children continually glanced above in wonder. Mikoto and Iceman did the same, entranced by the small flickering lights and sounds.

Not #2667w though. She rarely looked up. She was always scanning the trees ahead and behind, and she stared in the direction of every errant sound, but she rarely stopped. She knew what could happen if they stopped too often.

Eventually the sound of water became loud enough for even Iceman to hear. #2667w halted just out of sight of the sound, puzzled and wary looking.

"What's wrong?" Iceman was looking ahead and he could just barely see a glimmer of the water ahead. It sounded like a huge river, but looked like a lake.

"This sound, I have never heard it before." The children, Mikoto, and #2667w all looked scared.

"What, water?" Iceman turned around.

"Water, sir?" #2667w looked incredulous.

"Yeah, rushing water. From a creek or stream. Was the town near one?"

#2667w visibly relaxed, and began slowly jogging towards the sound again. With their leader ok, the children followed suit. But Mikoto was still confused.

"Water just like we drink?" Mikoto asked. #2667w seemed interested too, but as it didn't pose a direct threat was content to simply listen.

Iceman nodded his head, smiling brightly. "Yes, just like you drink. Only so much of it, you could never drink it all yourself."

"How is that possible?" Mikoto obviously didn't believe him.

"Rain."

"What is 'rain?'"

"When water falls from the sky."

"Sky?"

Iceman sighed. "I'm constantly being reminded that not only did you live your entire lives underground, but that as 'maruta' you weren't allowed the privilege of learning much about the surface."

"Sir, tell me what I'm seeing here."

In front of them was a large expanse of water shining in the light. The wind drew ripples in the surface as they gazed across to the other side. Mikoto gasped at the sight.

"That would be a lake. Man-made, too." He could just see the dam off in the distance. Something didn't seem right though. It looked too tall for being so far away.

"I always knew, but seeing is believing, sir." #2557w whistled. "The originals like you really are amazing."

"Don't degrade yourself. You are no less capable than I am. No maruta is. The only thing separating me from you is your ears and my lack of a tail." Iceman laughed it off, but #2667w took what he said extremely seriously.

"'And the father will love all his sons and daughters as one, equal in all regards.' I honestly don't know what to say. Though you deny it sir, you fit every myth and legend maruta have created or passed down of the Father." #2667w said, her face beaming. "I like you. You have no prejudice against us. Consider me family."

Iceman glanced at Mikoto before answering. She was being very careful to not look at him. "I.... thank you." There was the Father thing again. He would really need to remember to ask about it.

#2667w pointed down the valley while turning to walk beside the shore. "The town was shown on the map to be be below the large water, lake, and in the place where the... valley... turns." So a few kilometers still to go. She signaled for the kids to stay away from the water, and forged ahead through the trees again.

The day was past midday. They had begun walking near the beginning of the day, and now it was already time for lunch. But none of the maruta complained about food or water, so Iceman couldn't rightly do so. But his stomach didn't get the hint. He ignored it, and continued walking.

The dam for the lake was fairly wide, and very tall in the center, though certainly not more than 100 meters at maximum. However, the water level was extremely low. They had to walk up almost 50 meters just to get above the top of the dam. Luckily, the side they were on had the spillway, so #2667w began to follow it down to the bottom of the valley before stopping and pointing at the side of the dam.

"Is it supposed to do that sir?"

The source of the monstrous roar and #2667w's question was obvious: a long crack had developed in the side of the concrete dam, stretching from the top to about halfway down the side of the dam. Somehow, the water had breached the dam without destroying it. Iceman shook his head in answer and astonishment. He didn't know much about dams, but that level of damage didn't seem possible without a total catastrophic failure. But there it was, still holding back a lake-worth of water, though it was obviously not the same level as it was originally. The spillway showed where the normal level used to lay.

Iceman scratched his head. "I don't know how the dam is even still standing."

"A... dam?" Mikoto asked.

"Yeah. Something usually man-made that creates a lake or other large body of water."

"So is the... dam... going to break?"

#2667w stared at him, obviously waiting on Iceman's answer. Iceman looked at the line of big-eyed kids behind him. All were within sight in the broken spillway, and all were staring at him, also waiting. "Honestly, I doubt it. But there is a chance. Better to be safe, at least until we reach the meeting point. At our height right now, we would be above the water level if it failed all of the sudden."

#2667w nodded and immediately began jogging parallel to the center of the valley, making sure to stay above the guess Iceman had presented. For a while, nothing happened, and all was silent except for Iceman's heavy breathing as he tried to keep up.

**End of Verse 4**


End file.
